“You need to control Oblivion,” Reggie said, looking pointedly at my arms.
I shook them and then rubbed my forearms, trying to get the power to withdraw. I could still feel it right beneath the surface, creating goosebumps on my skin. “It’s fine. I’m fine. I just need to get another ring crafted, but first, we need to find Dianna.”
Reggie just stared at me for a moment with his otherworldly eyes before taking a shuddering breath. He nodded, and we turned to leave the city.
“Where to next?” Cameron asked, falling into step at my side. He’d been standing nearby with his back to us, watching for threats, but I knew he’d been listening.
“Back to Whitcliff. See if some of the shipyard workers have heard anything more.”
Whitcliff was also our safest bet at staying under the radar. The small city was built inside an ocean-facing cave. The spiraling white stone of the cavern glowed with its own internal light, keeping the darkness at bay. It was deep enough into the cliff that anyone passing overhead would only see rich land, never knowing of the city below. Nismera knew of Whitcliff, but she left it alone. It was a small, illegal trade route, and I imagined she found it useful enough to let it exist.
I formed a portal and Cameron stepped through, but I stopped Reggie before he entered. There was something I had to know.
“Tell me this. Only this. Can I save her?”
Reggie’s smile was soft and genuine, even with the flicker of pain I saw in his eyes. “You save her every day and more than you will ever know.”
“Good, I’ll take that,” I said, my nerves settling. “Now let’s go find her.”
Reggie stepped into the portal, and I waited until he was through before I started forward. A hand closed around my throat in a viselike grip. My eyes flew wide in startled surprise because I hadn’t heard anything, but even worse, I hadn’t sensed anything. How powerful was this being that they were able to cloak the roiling presence I felt at my back?
“You will not have to go far,” a deep, rumbling male voice said.
With a negligent toss, he sent me sailing across the broken cobblestone street. I crashed hard against a wall and slid to the ground, landing in a heap. I shook my head to clear it and looked up to see a man with burning orange eyes stalking toward me.
35
MISKA
Tiny flying bugs dipped and dived, sparking like embers between the mossy trees, and a chorus of small creatures sang to the night sky. The sun had barely set when I left the shelter to hunt for a few ingredients. While the stash I’d stolen from the palace was sufficient, she didn’t carry half the things I needed for the salve I was using on Kaden and Isaiah.
Kneeling, I plucked a few more dried berries off the forest floor. Was I stupid for this? Was I a fool to help them? These were the questions that kept me company as I worked. When they woke up, they would probably kill me. Kaden was terrible, and Isaiah was no better. They were the infamous, merciless generals of her army and her brothers. But when I’d reached them and seen the disaster left in the wake of their fall, I’d had to help. My chest had ached at the sounds of those great, scaled beasts wheezing and moaning in pain. When their bodies shifted, returning to their mortal forms, they were both beaten, bruised, and covered in so much blood.
I had treated them as best I could out in the open, monitoring them throughout the day. As they slept, I built a litter and pulley system out of tree limbs, vines, and massive leaves I’d found that were as strong as flexible metal.
It had taken me a while to find a shelter, but I hadn’t wanted them to spend the night exposed to the elements and without fire. I had been lucky even to find a place in this forest, although lucky might not be the right word for what I’d found. I had stumbled on what looked like the ruins of a small village. Only two small structures still stood, lumber and clothes littering the ground. It seemed that when Nismera had taken control of this area and built her evil, golden city, she’d wiped the area clean of anyone who dared have any claim to it.
One at a time, I hoisted them onto the stretcher and dragged them to the crumbling, half-destroyed structure. The only thing that helped me was that it had rained recently, and the soil was wet enough to ease the way. Heavy was an understatement, and my shoulders still hurt at times.
After collecting more of the leaves and wet grass, I added them to the basket I’d made alongside the berries and herbs I’d found and headed back. The small light in the rotten cabin flickered, and I stopped when I heard voices. Were they awake? I lingered outside by the tree that had brought down the one wall and peeked inside.
“This just means—” Isaiah started.
“It means nothing,” Kaden barked back, causing me to jump. The pain coating his words was heartbreaking.
“Mera—”
“It’sNismera,” Kaden corrected, rage bubbling in his voice. He sat on the side of the cot I had fashioned from the remains of the old beds, his knuckles bunching as he held the edge. “No nicknames. She doesn’t deserve it, not from you, not after she lied to us our entire lives and tried to kill us both.”
My hands gripped the basket tightly, clutching it against my chest. That was what she had done to them? Why they’d fought her?
“I know.” Isaiah’s voice grew louder, almost begging. “That means Dad didn’t lock us in that damn prison. You heard her. She knew stuff that she wouldn’t have unless she’d organized it all from the beginning.”
Kaden’s laugh was a twisted bark. “Are you that naïve? You saw him lock the fucking realm with us in it.”
“Or she did.”
“How, Isaiah? Use your fucking brain.”
